Oakland Rally Falls Short at No. 24 Louisville, 10-7

Three Golden Grizzlies had two RBIs each in the game

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Aaron Cieslak, Robby Enslen and Tim Ryan each drove in two runs, but the Oakland baseball team (0-3) saw its comeback effort fall short in a 10-7 loss to No. 24 Louisville (5-1) on Saturday at Patterson Field. The Golden Grizzlies rallied from five runs down in the ninth inning to bring the tying run to the plate twice.

"I am extremely proud of the effort given today by our young men," said head coach John Musachio. "We were one at-bat away from changing the outcome in today's game."

Oakland trailed 10-5 heading into the ninth inning, but scored two runs on a bases-loaded single by Ryan. That brought the potential tying run to the plate with one out, but the Golden Grizzlies could not complete the comeback bid, in a game where OU stranded a total of 14 base runners.

The Golden Grizzlies scored six runs over the final three inning, including three in the seventh. Cieslak started the rally with a single to drive in Ryan before Enslen drove in two more runs with a bases-loaded single that made it 5-4.

With OU threatening, Louisville brought on Matt Kock (2) who struck out the side to end the threat. Koch finished the game with seven strikeouts over the final 2.2 innings to earn the save. Louisville starter Jeff Thompson (2-0) threw five innings and had five of the Cardinal's 14 strikeouts.

Both offenses were clicking with Louisville outhitting OU 14-12. Jake Morton was 3-for-5, while Todd Dunham went 2-for-5. Stewart Ijames led the Cardinal with a 2-for-2 effort that included a pair of home runs, including a two-run shot in the fifth inning that put Louisville up 5-1..

Brady Adamek (0-1) allowed just three runs over four innings, but suffered the loss. The Golden Grizzlies used six different pitchers in the game.

The Golden Grizzlies will conclude the three-game series with Louisville Sunday at noon at Patterson Field.